Lake Verity
by AnonOrange-FFA
Summary: There's something not quite right about Barry's friend, Lucas.
1. Chapter 1

Like most of these fics, this started out as a request on /tr/ a while back; this was the first request I filled, for memory. I could be wrong though. Also, because it was a request, no, I don't know exactly what's wrong with him and no, it's not an accurate representation of any kind of illness. I know.

Disclaimer: Definitely not mine, in any way, shape or form.

* * *

It all started, or so they liked to think, with a single name.

"Lucas."

"Who's Lucas, kiddo?"

"He's my friend, he's sitting right over there." Barry pointed to the couch where Lucas sat perched on the edge, grinning sheepishly at the mess of pencil sharpenings and broken crayons lying on the carpet.

"Where?"

"On the couch! Don't be stupid Dad, he's been here all afternoon and we've been playing and drawing and eating lunch. Oh, I'm thirsty, can I have some juice? Hey Lucas, do you want some juice?"

Of course, Lucas wanted some juice. It had been hours since they had last been offered any juice and he was just as thirsty as Barry.

"Orange or apple?"

"Apple, apple, apple!" Barry exclaimed loudly and ran back to the coffee table to help Lucas pick up the crayons; they could use some of them again if they tore the paper off the outside, there was still a lot of crayon left on the inside. He made grabbing motions when his father returned with the cup of juice and drank half of it before he put it down roughly on the table. "You didn't get one for Lucas, dad, he's gonna be thirsty now."

"Yes I did."

"Oh." Barry looked again and noticed the cup of orange juice just in front of Lucas' drawing. "I didn't even see you give it to him Dad."

"I'm fast. What're you drawing today?"

"Do you remember how we went to Lake Verity last weekend and we saw lots of Goldeen in the water and we stayed for ages and had fun?" Barry asked. He carefully selected the remnants of a blue crayon.

"Of course."

"Well that's me," Barry indicated a yellow blob on the page. "And that's you," The bigger yellow blob. "And that's Mum and that's Goldeen there near the water," The green and orange blobs, respectively. "And that's Lucas and the Bidoof he made friends with." He gestured the side-by-side red and brown blobs.

"We didn't take Lucas to the Lake last weekend, kiddo."

"Did too."

"Okay," Palmer ruffled his son's hair in good humour. "Make sure you don't spill your juice."

"I won't Dad."

That was the first time either of them had heard about Lucas. It was normal, they knew, for five year olds to have imaginary friends and Lucas seemed to be the best kind of imaginary friend in those first few months. It was never Lucas that tread mud through the house. They were never Lucas' socks lying all over the floor. Lucas never broke any glasses or plates or broke the toaster when he tried to cook toast on his own one morning. That was all Barry, and he usually owned up to it; or, he was usually caught in the act and had no choice but to own up. As a child with a vivid imagination and a habit for getting himself into trouble, Barry was rarely left unsupervised for very long. But on the rare occasion when a vase was broken with no one else around, Lucas still never took the blame. With a rushed 'I'm really sorry, really', Barry was already out of the room and on to his next adventure.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Not mine, never have been.

* * *

Lucas went to the same school as Barry when they both started at the Trainers School in Jubilife. Barry had burst out of the front doors on his first day to announce loudly to his mother that Lucas was in his class. She heard one of the other boys snickering as he walked past and told Barry to wait where he was. "Can you do that?" She had asked. "Of course I can, I'm going to stand right here and not move for anything." He had replied with a large grin. His mother had slipped back inside the building and had a brief conversation with Barry's teacher that was filled with reassurance; kids his age have imaginary friends, it's normal, I'll try to help him let go. She thanked the teacher and walked back outside to find Barry standing on the bench across the street, reaching up to the branch of a tree.

"What are you doing?"

"I got bored waiting and then I followed a Starly to this tree but he flew up high and I can't reach him and Lucas can't either."

"How would you feel if they moved Lucas into another class?" She helped her son down from the bench and picked up his school bag from the ground. He took her hand and they started to walk home together.

"Are they going to move him already? It's only been one day and he's really quiet and never gets into trouble!" Barry exclaimed.

"Well your class is a bit too big so they want to move a few kids into the next class. And your teacher told me that they want to move Lucas."

"I don't want them to move him! That's why school was going to be fun, because Lucas was going to be in my class and I didn't have to have no friends again because we're already friends." Barry had stopped walking by then to make his point, his mother had to tug on his hand to get his attention.

"Come on Barry, when we get home you can call Dad and tell him all about school."

"I don't want to go back if they make Lucas go away."

"They won't make him go away, you'll still get to see him at lunchtimes. And I'm sure he'll come to our house after school all the time."

"Maybe." Barry scrunched up his face to show his lack of enthusiasm towards the idea. "When is Dad coming again home?"

"Not for a few weeks yet." They continued walking home, hand in hand.

It was a month later when it became apparent that Lucas 'moving classes' would not stop Barry from seeing him outside his own house. They were learning about different types of Pokemon and Barry found it all very interesting. Of course, he already knew almost everything they had tried to teach him; his father had taught him all about Pokemon types a long time ago. He even knew which types were more effective against others, or a lot of them at least. He knew that water types were weak to electric attacks but he could never remember what steel was weak against. He struggled to sit still through lessons but his mother had warned his teacher that he was likely to lose concentration quickly; he was given his tasks in smaller chunks, a worksheet here, a single question there. The less time the task was supposed to take the more he was able to focus. He was filling out a worksheet on type advantages and had become stuck when he got to the question about steel. He couldn't remember anything about steel types. Why couldn't he remember? What would he have for lunch? What did he want for lunch?

What was his mother doing at home? Maybe she was watching tv, or eating her own lunch. Maybe she was tidying his bedroom so he wouldn't have to do it when he got home. Was his Dad supposed to come home this weekend? He'd like that. He still hadn't seen his Dad since school had started and he had so many things to tell him, again and again, because he'd already told most of his stories over the phone. Maybe he could – Barry dropped his pencil to the floor and jumped to his feet.

"Barry! Sit back down, it's not time to leave yet."

"I have to!" He exclaimed. It was cold outside the classroom but that didn't matter, Barry didn't often give thought to the weather. He simply ran out of the classroom and down the hall after the boy in the red hat, he'd seen him walk past the window beside the door.

"Barry! Get back here!" He ignored his teacher and stopped at the end of the hallway. Which way had Lucas gone?

"Lucas!" He called. "Where did you go?" He heard footsteps and a door slamming and ran off towards the sounds. Of course, Lucas would have gone outside. They couldn't talk inside school anymore, they were only allowed to talk outside on the playground. "Lucas!" He called again. "Where are you?"

"Over here." Lucas said from the top of the slide.

"Why aren't you in your class?"

"Because I know all that stuff."

"So do I!" Barry said as he climbed up the slide rather than the stairs, his sneakers slipping on the hard plastic as he did. "What are you doing? We're doing types, I know about almost all of them but I can't remember anything about steel types, can you?"

"Nah. I always forget about dark types too."

"Nah, I know all about them."

"Barry! Get back here! What are you doing?"

"Talking to Lucas."

"There's no one there, Barry."

"Of course there is, it's just Lucas... Lucas?" Barry trailed off. He looked back up from his teacher to Lucas for reassurance, but there was no one there. "Lucas?"

"Come back inside, Barry."

"Okay. Maybe he just went back inside." Barry slid back down the slide backwards. He didn't understand why Lucas wouldn't have just told him that he was going back into class.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: None of these belong to me.

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Barry was nine years old when his parents decided that it had gone too far. Nine was still young, they knew that but it was old enough to know the difference between people that existed and imaginary friends; Barry showed no indication that he believed Lucas was an imaginary friend and that was exactly the problem. To Barry, Lucas was as real as his mother and father. He would come and go and there had been a period of almost three months when Barry was seven that Lucas hadn't been mentioned at all. He would disappear for a week or two but he would always return. By the time he was nine, it had become too hard for his mother to watch as he sat alone in their backyard, talking to Lucas as if he was really there. There was more to it than an overactive imagination, she knew. She sat him down at the kitchen table one day after school and made him a hot chocolate.

"We need to have a bit of a talk, Barry."

"About what? Is Dad coming home this weekend? Oh, wow, that's gonna be so much fun! Maybe we can go and see him instead, can we Mum? Can we?"

"I need you to tell the truth, okay?"

"I always tell the truth, Mum, don't be stupid." Barry laughed as he sat, swinging his legs on his chair; he was still too short to reach the floor.

"I want you to tell me about Lucas."

"What about him?"

"What does he look like?"

"Well, he's a little bit shorter than me and he's got dark hair but he always wears a hat."

"A hat?"

"Yeah, I think he likes it."

Barry was too focused on drinking his hot chocolate that he didn't realise that these were things he told his mother all the time. She knew what Lucas looked like. She didn't like him but she knew what he looked like; Barry had never understood how his mother could completely ignore Lucas when he was talking to her. She was so nice to everyone else.

"What else can you tell me about him?"

"What do you want to know about him?"

"Where does he live?"

"Here."

"Here?"

"Yeah, here in Twinleaf Town, don't be stupid Mum, I've told you all this like a bazillion times." Barry said with a laugh. "Can I go now? Lucas is waiting for me."

"Of course." She said. Barry jumped down from his chair with a loud clatter and sprinted out of the kitchen and upstairs to his bedroom. She thought about going after him but decided not to. She doubted that he would think there was any reason for her to ask those questions and when she went upstairs later on, to call Barry down for dinner, she heard him talking to himself again.

"I don't know why Mum doesn't like you. I dunno. Maybe. Hey, do you want to go to Lake Verity? It's not too cold, don't be stupid. If you can't tie your shoelaces faster than me, I'm gonna fine you!"


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. Enjoy.

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"Barry."

"What?"

"What did you just say?"

"I said I'm going to the Lake."

"Not today you're not."

"Mum, come on, I'm twelve. I know how to get to Lake Verity and back." He jumped to his feet once his laces were tied and started bouncing on the spot; his mother was right, there was a lot more bounce in new shoes than in old ones.

"What are you going to do?"

"Homework, Mum. We have to go and watch Pokemon in their natural habitat and I'm gonna have the best thing to hand in! I'm the only one from Twinleaf so I'm the only one that'll go to Verity, all the other kids in my class are from Jubilife and Oreburgh so none of them will have a report about Gyarados!" Barry was bouncing from foot to foot with anticipation. "Imagine having to write reports about Geodude!" He laughed and kissed his mother on the cheek. "Bye Mum!"

"Take your coat, it's raining!"

"Okay!" Barry was already out the front door by then and halfway towards the main road; he didn't hear her. "I'll race you to the lake!" She heard him say as she closed the door. "I'll fine you if you lose!"

"Hey Lucas," Barry started. He sat down by the edge of the water and took off his sneakers and his socks, then rolled up his pants so they were at his knees. He shifted so he could put his legs in the water. It was cold, he thought, but not too cold. It was kind of nice, hopefully the Gyarados thought so as well. "should I tell my Mum about what happened last week?"

"I thought you told her already."

"Nah, she had to go and see my teacher last week and she was really upset about something."

"Why would you keep it a secret?"

"Because she'll just worry all the time if I tell her. It was kinda scary."

"It probably was." Lucas said. He could see a Goldeen swimming below his feet and stretched out his toes to try and touch it.

"Yeah? I didn't know where you went, how scary was that? I thought that you'd drowned or something and I didn't know what to do."

"I was here the whole time though, like just in the grass over there." Lucas gestured towards the patch of grass behind them. "Maybe that's why you couldn't see me."

"But why couldn't you hear me? You just disappeared and I was yelling a lot because I thought you were doing it on purpose, like to scare me or something."

"I didn't do it on purpose."

"It was real scary, Lucas. Like really scary. Like sometimes when you disappear like that it's not really so scary because I know that you're really good at sneaking off like that. But last week it was really bad. Like you know when we saw all those Magikarp and I screamed because they came out of nowhere?"

"Yeah."

"It was really sunny and warm, right? That's why we said it was so cool living right next to the Lake."

"Yeah, it was really like Summer and everything."

"When you disappeared though, everything went really strange."

"What happened?"

"It got really dark and started raining and everything. And really quickly I got so wet that I thought that I'd fallen into the lake. And I just ran home because I was so scared. Like, it didn't stop raining the whole afternoon. And my Mum said that it was raining the whole day and that's why she didn't want me to go to the Lake anyway."

"But it wasn't raining the whole day." Lucas said. "It was nice."

"I know. But my Mum says it was and that's why I don't want to tell her what really happened."

"What did you tell her?"

"I just said that I wanted to go to the lake to play, it's better than playing in Twinleaf." Barry said. He kicked up some water.

"There's not much to do there though, that's why. Imagine if we lived in Jubilife though, imagine living in the city!" Lucas exclaimed.

"I don't think I'd like it. I mean we go to school and everything there and I kinda like Twinleaf, it's just so small sometimes. And everyone there thinks that I'm crazy, they think you're not really there."

"That's so stupid. If I wasn't real, I couldn't do this!" Lucas said and with a laugh, he pushed Barry forwards into the Lake.

"Hey! That's not fair Lucas!" Barry tried to shake the water out of his hair and he found his footing. The sky was overcast, the clouds heavy and grey and he suddenly felt cold. It wasn't the nice kind of cold either, it was the kind that filled him with dread because it meant that something was wrong. Usually it was just the sky being out of balance, the hot and cold air combining so far above his head that it caused thunderstorms. "Lucas!" He yelled. "Where did you go, Lucas? LUCAS!"

Barry exclaimed as he dragged himself out of the water. "Lucas!" He called again. He ran through the grass looking for the other boy, I was in the grass, Barry, that's probably why you didn't see me. Lucas' words rang in his head and he eventually had to stop at the edge of the forest. He didn't like going into the forest alone, he didn't like going into the forest with anyone except his father. "LUCAS!" He shouted again, turning around suddenly. He picked up his bag and his shoes, never mind the socks or the pencils that fell as he ran out onto the lake front and back towards Twinleaf.

"Barry! What's wrong?"

"Mum!" He shouted and dropped all his belongings to the ground. "Mum, Lucas has gone again," He was crying by then, hugging his mothers' waist tightly. "It happened last week too and I'm scared, I don't know where he went, it was sunny and nice and we were talking and I was waiting for a Gyarados so I could do my report and then he pushed me in because it was funny and then he was GONE!" Barry wailed. "I don't know why it keeps happening now! Both times it was nice and sunny and then when Lucas disappeared it got dark and rainy and I'm so so scared!"

"Shh, it's okay," She smoothed down his hair. "Stop crying, Barry, its okay." They were both getting rained on and Barry was already soaked from falling into Lake Verity. "Come on, let's go home."

"Where's Lucas gone though, Mum? Why does he keep disappearing like that?"

"I don't know, Barry, but I think it's time we made you an appointment with a Doctor, okay?"

Barry would have said yes to anything by then. He nodded.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: These aren't mine, never will be.

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Barry was never allowed to leave on a Pokemon journey. It was decided for him that it was too risky and the events that occurred when he was twelve years old had proved that it had been the right decision. The day that his mother had followed him to Lake Verity and found him in hysterics halfway home had changed everything. He saw a string of Doctors for months as they tried to figure out what was wrong with him; Lucas wasn't simply the only problem, it was the fact that he seemed to slip in and out of reality that worried his parents the most. He was put on a course of antipsychotics and they seemed to be helping. Lucas had 'gone on his own Pokemon journey', so Barry said. No one could be sure if it was 'Lucas' that had said that or if it was simply Barry trying to protect himself. Months passed and his parents heard no new stories about Lucas. He became more focused at school after he switched to the regular kind where he learnt about science and language rather than evolution. His parents encouraged him to try and make an effort and join a club but he didn't want anything to do with large groups of kids his own age; he knew they would find out, kids always found out the most embarrassing secrets somehow. He never told his parents about the times he suddenly realised where he was without knowing how he got there. He didn't tell them that Lucas still visited occasionally. He liked that his mother didn't worry anymore. He took his pills in the morning and went to school, went to bed at the same time every night except Fridays when he stayed up an hour later and did his best to act normal.

Barry was fifteen when he met Dawn for the first time. He was sitting alone on the playground at Lake Verity staring out at the island; once he and Lucas had swum out there together, racing to see who could swim faster, and Barry had arrived alone. He heard her sit down next to him.

"They say you're crazy." She said with a childish giggle. Barry didn't really know any girls so he had no idea how old this one was. She looked like she could be the same age as the girls in his class, he could imagine her sitting at the desk next to his and not looking out of place.

"Who says?"

"Everyone in Twinleaf Town. All the kids, anyway. The grown-ups say you've just got a big imagination and a lot of energy."

"My mother says that sometimes." And she was lying when she said it.

"So are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Are you crazy?"

"No."

"C'mon Barry, you don't need to lie to me."

"I'm not lying."

"You are, aren't you? It's okay, you know. I mean, I don't mind."

"Who are you?" If he'd been feeling better, Barry would have already challenged her to climb right up to the top of the highest roof on the playground. But he felt awful in different ways all at once for the first time in months and just wanted to spend some time alone.

"My name's Dawn. I just moved here." The girl explained. "You know Lucas, right?"

"What?"

"You know Lucas."

"Yeah," Barry said slowly. "What about him?"

"Nothing. He said that you'd probably be here by yourself on a Sunday."

"How do you know him?"

"I met him in Snowpoint City. He told me all about you, Barry."

"What did he tell you?"

"Just the important things. Like how you're crazy. You can't even tell when things are real, can you?"

"I can too." Barry didn't like her. He didn't know where this girl got her information from but he wanted to find out.

"No you can't. It's all in your head you freak, you've only got one friend and he's imaginary."

"He's not imaginary."

"He is too."

"He's not."

"Of course he is, that's your problem, isn't it Barry? You got your imagination so tangled up with reality that you can't tell them apart anymore, isn't that right?" Dawn gave another giggle. "Normal people know when things aren't real. Even five year olds admit that their imaginary friends aren't really there. You're fifteen, you're old enough to know better."

"I..." Barry had nothing to defend himself with. He closed his eyes and counted to ten, then fifteen, then kept going. He was up to fifty before Dawn's giggles finally faded away. Everything was silent. He opened his eyes to find that he was lying on the grass in his backyard rather than the playground at the Lake. He closed his eyes again, just in case. He didn't like Dawn, he didn't want to see her again. She had to be real. She was too vicious to be his own creation. He opened them again; still in the back yard. He shut his eyes again and tried to imagine that he was back at Lake Verity. He imagined the sound of the water splashing and the grass rustling and the creaking of the old swings. He imagined the noises of the wild Pokemon. When he opened his eyes again he was staring up at the sky from his own backyard, alone. He sat up and wiped away the tears with his sleeve.


	6. Chapter 6

Final chapter, prepare to b'aww.

Disclaimer: None of these are my characters, never have been, never will be.

* * *

On the morning of his sixteenth birthday, Barry jumped out of bed with more energy than he'd been able to find for months. He ran down the hall to the bathroom yelling the whole way, "Oh my god, I'm busting! If there's anyone in there in going to fine you all a billion dollars today!" He ran back to his bedroom and ransacked his closet to try and find his favourite striped shirt and found a pair of jeans on the floor. He didn't bother with shoes or socks.

"MUUUUM!" He shouted as he tore through the house to the kitchen. "When's Dad getting here? He's coming home today, right? He can't just forget to come home today, can he? Especially because he said yesterday on the phone that he'd be here today so it'd be real mean of him not to come."

"Sit _down_, Barry!" His mother exclaimed as she tried to step around him.

"I can't, I'm just so excited!"

"What are you excited about?"

"Mum! It's my birthday! And Dad's coming home and I'll bet he's got me something really cool this year because when I was talking to him the other day he said something about going to get me something but he wouldn't say what so it has to be really, really good or he would have told me!"

"Did you take your pills yet?"

"But Mum,"

"No but's Barry. It'll only take a second."

"Alright." He agreed grudgingly and stomped back out of the kitchen and all the way to his bedroom. He closed the door when he got there. "Why are you here?"

"Because it's your birthday, silly." Dawn giggled from her place on the end of Barry's bed. "Sixteen years old and he's still talking to me."

"Shut up." He grabbed the bottle of pills and swallowed two of them. "And leave me alone, just for today."

"If you really want."

Barry blinked. Dawn was gone. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Lucas?" Barry jumped up onto the couch and stared out the window. "MUM! I'M GOING TO THE LAKE!" He shouted. There was no mistaking that red hat.

"Your Dad's going to be home soon, why now? We can all go later."

"Dad's gonna be hours, he's always late. I swear I'll only be gone for like an hour and then I'll come back and he'll never even know I was gone. We can even go back later if you want and eat dinner like a picnic." Barry suggested; he knew his mother would like that idea.

"I don't know, Barry."

"Please Mum, come on, it's my birthday and everything! I just want to go and see if I can find any Gyarados because it's still early enough in the morning to see them. They're gonna migrate soon and I won't be able to see them until next year!" Barry was hopping from foot to foot.

"Alright, one hour. If you're any longer than that I'm coming to get you."

"Alright! Bye Mum!" Barry kissed her cheek and ran out of the house. He'd seen Lucas, he knew it was him. He didn't care what that meant but he had a few questions that only Lucas could answer.

"LUCAS!" Barry shouted as he came to a sudden stop at Verity Lakefront. "I totally saw you, where are you?"

"Calm down, I'm here. What, you thought I'd just disappear on you or something?" Lucas tried to make a scary face to lighten the situation.

"Yeah. Where have you been?"

"All over Sinnoh, you wouldn't believe it. I went all the way up to Snowpoint City and everything. It was incredible. Mt. Coronet is huge, I got lost in there for days."

"Yeah?"

"Hey, you really need to calm down, Barry, you're not focusing."

"I'm focusing just fine." He wasn't. With Lucas standing in front of him and the usual sounds of the Lake in the background, Barry had no way of distinguishing where reality ended.

"You're not."

"I'm just fine Lucas, they make me take pills and everything so I have to be fine, right?" Barry started to kick off his shoes. "I'll race you to the island!" He took a long run up and tore off towards the water before Lucas could warn him against it. With a laugh and a splash, Barry disappeared into Lake Verity for the last time.

"Let go of me!" Lucas said. Dawn dug her fingernails into his arm as a warning.

"He's better off that way anyway, it's not like he even knows it happening. He probably thinks he's at school or something."

"He's drowning, Dawn, it's not his fault his foot's stuck. That's got nothing to do with his head."

"He jumped in because of you. It's your fault Lucas. If you hadn't let him see you again then he would have stayed home."

"Like you can talk! Why do you think I came back? To protect him from you, all you're doing is bringing any negative thought he's ever had to life! Let go!"

"What are you going to do, Lucas? Drag him out? With what? Your imaginary hands?"

"Shut up!" Lucas dove into the water but Dawn had kept him on the bank too long and Barry had already been snapped back to reality at the worst possible moment; the last thing he saw was the sunlight far above Lake Verity.


End file.
